Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
In the raining park the chessmen play
The faithful atheists refuse to pray
The steam-works weep, the addicts do not care
Crowd of cold people stand by and stare
The garbage eaters, their many retainers
Come to collect all the foul remainders
The smoke hangs heavy, the wrecking ball swings
In the clockwork of a collapsing thing
Wasted plastic empire's golden age, chemical wedding
Citizens in their refineries cheer the nuptial bedding
The hourglass is turning
On a shore of iron, cutters, and clippers
Paper, rock, rock, paper, and scissors
On a road of skulls their story moves on
It's a bumpy ride and very, very, very long
In the blue sky the seagulls fly over garbage
Are we the ocean? Are we the desert?
Are we the garbage? Who's to say?
The faithful atheists refuse to pray
The steam-works weep, the addicts do not care
Crowd of cold people stand by and stare
The garbage eaters, their many retainers
Come to collect all the foul remainders
The smoke hangs heavy, the wrecking ball swings
In the clockwork of a collapsing thing
Wasted plastic empire's golden age, chemical wedding
Citizens in their refineries cheer the nuptial bedding
The hourglass is turning
On a shore of iron, cutters, and clippers
Paper, rock, rock, paper, and scissors
On a road of skulls their story moves on
It's a bumpy ride and very, very, very long
In the blue sky the seagulls fly over garbage
Are we the ocean? Are we the desert?
Are we the garbage? Who's to say?
Lyrics submitted by JaycetheJayce
The Amazing Kreskin Lyrics as written by Neil Fallon Dan Maines
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Possibly using environmentalism as a metaphor for the human condition?
The title, the name of a popular mentalist (basically, an illusionist or magician), could refer to how we willfully deceive ourselves
"In the raining park the chessmen play" - Chess has been known to symbolize strategically misleading behavior in competition. Think of all the different big companies, political interest groups, and governments vying for power nowadays.
"The faithful atheists refuse to pray" - Religious zealots come from both ends of the spectrum.
"The steam-works weep, the addicts do not care" - May be a reference to unemployment rates and the junkies and deadbeats who can't be bothered to get a job and pay for themselves, let alone their families.
"Crowd of cold people stand by and stare" - I don't think it's the weather making these people cold.
"The garbage eaters, their many retainers" - Obviously a fancy way of referring to those in the sanitation industry, but that's probably a metaphor for something else. Possibly the general consumer who gobbles up whatever trash the marketing companies throw at us. I've also heard "sanitation workers" as a code word for the Mafia.
"Come to collect all the foul remainders" - See above.
"The smoke hangs heavy, the wrecking ball swings" - Our vision/judgment is clouded and we're wielding a tool of destruction carelessly.
"In the clockwork of a collapsing thing" - Probably the least encrypted line in the whole song. The clock is ticking on our collapsing society. I'm also reminded of the book/movie "A Clockwork Orange" which is full of metaphor in and of itself. Primarily, both the image of a mechanical man running on a routine like clockwork or the unnatural absurdity of the concept of an actual fruit, an orange, made of clockwork. Really, you should all read the book to know what I'm talking about there.
"Wasted plastic empire's golden age, chemical wedding" - The end of an era and the beginning of a new one. Specifically, ushering in the new age by the merging (wedding) of the fake with the unnatural.
"Citizens in their refineries cheer the nuptial bedding" - See above. "The hourglass is turning" - Time just keeps moving along. Things just keep on changing.
"On a shore of iron, cutters, and clippers" - I have the hardest time not thinking of Emo kids cutting themselves here, but I really don't think that's what the reference was meant to be. Sounds more like a nation founded on military.
"Paper, rock, rock, paper, and scissors" - More competitive games. This time, a game with no strategy; a game of chance. Also, Rock Paper Scissors represents a cycle of change and balance.
"On a road of skulls their story moves on" - The road to victory is paved with the bones of the defeated... or something like that.
"It's a bumpy ride and very, very, very long" - I take back what I said before. This one has to be the most straightforward line in the song.
"In the blue sky the seagulls fly over garbage." - There's always an uninvolved observer.
"Are we the ocean? Are we the desert?" - As a society, are we overabundance (ocean) or desolation (desert)?
"Are we the garbage? Who's to say?" - Or just a waste of resources (garage). We also see another trio which could form another cycle of change and balance.
OK, I think I'm done now.